The fourth round of the European hurling and camogie championship brought our players to Vienna. As is usual on the European level, this tournament brought teams and players from all over the continent together for these fantastic sports. We didn’t have enough players to field our own team, so we saw our hurlers teaming up with Eindhoven while our camogie players teamed up with Luxembourg. Fierce hurling and camogie battles ensued on a hot late summer’s day, and our players represented the Celtics‘ badge with skill and class throughout.
Of course, such tournaments also have a fantastic social element—as they bring people together from everywhere for the duration of the weekend—and they give our players an excuse to explore new and exciting places – in this case, one of the most significant cities in Europe, Vienna. Overall, it made for a wonderful weekend.
This tournament report is provided by one of our more recent recruits – although an established and experienced Celt at this stage, Oisín Brennan, – and our club PRO, Katharina Breuer. Bain sult as!
Oisín Brennan’s Tournament Report
A small but mighty crew made the journey down to Vienna for a weekend of sunny hurling. Myself and Kat had a great time „remote working“ on the train (Sshhh, don’t tell our bosses) before cracking open some beers and, more importantly, the massive bag of snacks we’d brought with us.
Upon arriving in Vienna, we reunited with others, and we all went for some delicious food in one of Vienna’s finer establishments: a Michelin-starred restaurant! Just kidding, we went to an Irish pub for burgers and chips, of course.
Saturday started bright and early with a spirited taxi ride to the pitches, and us lads found our teammates for the day in the form of five very hungover Eindhoven players. Having expected 7 of them and having lost two players at the last minute ourselves, this left us in the unenviable position of having 8 players for 9-a-side hurling. Oh dear.
Despite Eindhoven’s dangerously high blood alcohol levels, we managed to rally the troops and persuaded them that we should actually do some hurling, seeing as we’d travelled so far for it.
Match 1: Luxembourg
Up first, Luxembourg. We struggled to get out of first gear against a well-drilled side, but nonetheless, we got some points on the scoreboard and properly warmed our legs for the next match. It was not our finest performance, but we took solace in finding out later that Luxembourg hammered almost everybody, not just us.
Match 2: Hamburg
Next up, Hamburg. The ol‘ rivals. Having learned that our ladies had just beaten Hamburg’s in the camogie, we went into this game determined to replicate that feat in the hurling. After a lightning-quick start, we began knocking balls through the posts from all over the midfield, with Frank and Eoin slotting them away alongside some of Eindhoven’s big hitters. Going into halftime with a 7-point lead, we felt confident we could win this game.
At this point, we decided we wanted the finale to be more dramatic, so we let in some soft goals and allowed Hamburg back into the game. However, we knew we were better than that and, determined to chalk up our first win of the day, we went into midfield overdrive. With eager running, myself and Eindhoven’s Marko gathered every ball at corner forward from the puckouts, teed up our lethal midfielders, and the points dragged us out of Hamburg’s reach. 21 points (and a goal or two) made for a sweet victory and was enough to send us through to the cup semi-final.
Cup Semi-Final: Belgium
With a long break before our next game, our friends from Eindhoven decided to take some naps. We Cologne lads decided the pretzels at the snack stand were too tempting to resist. In the meantime, Belgium, our formidable semi-final opponents, began their hour-long warm-up routine. On the other hand, we dragged ourselves to the pitchside about 5 minutes before throw-in.
Our lack of preparation paid its toll, and Belgium exploited our sluggishness mercilessly. With an ex-Waterford player in their front line and some solid defenders in their back, we struggled to keep the sliotar out of our own half, and the floodgates opened. We retained some dignity with a few scores of our own, but the winner was clear. On the plus side, getting knocked out gave us time to watch our ladies win the Shield! And enjoy some fine Austrian beer in the sun.
The Afters
After returning to the hostel and washing off about 50 litres of sun cream, we decided to hit the town. Vienna had organised a brilliant dinner in a Bierkeller, and we tucked into a delicious buffet of traditional Austrian food: potato salads, sausages, more sausages, and more potatoes. Washed down, of course, with plenty of beers.
At this point of the night, the next step was clearly the Irish bar. So off we went, passing some beautiful gilded buildings en route, and arrived at homely Charlie P.’s bar. Here, the party was in full swing, and we chatted and danced the night away, making new friends from across Europe’s GAA scene and trying not to embarrass ourselves on the dancefloor.
Sunday and Traveling Home
Come Sunday morning, we finally had some time to explore the city itself. After rushing to check out on time, we ditched our hefty rucksacks and wandered through the Schweizergarten to the stunning Schloss Belvedere, stopping at multiple mist stations on our way to keep the heat at bay. With our stomachs rumbling, we stopped at a cute cafe and fuelled up on some good grub before delighting ourselves with Sachertorte, the national dish and a true delicacy.
And finally, we had to make our way back to Köln. We hopped on the ICE with good energy and began whiling away the journey with chats, snacks, and some boisterous card games. As the day wore on, we started to flag, and it took some hearty train dinners and the verdant view out of the window to keep our morale up.
By the 8th hour, delirium was starting to set in, and Laura said she wanted to actually sprint down the train. We stretched our legs with a wee group session, much to the confusion of our fellow passengers. Nonetheless, we remained in good spirits throughout, and it was definitely a journey to remember.
Overall, it was a brilliant weekend, packed full of action, sunshine, great hurling, food, and company!
Kat’s Tournament Report
We almost lost our minds in the end!
But let’s start at the beginning. Oisín and I made our way to Vienna on the Friday morning. As the passenger princess I am (when I don’t drive myself), I simply rocked up at Cologne Central Station to find him well-prepared with a massive bag full of snacks and beer and knowing exactly where to go and when! German citizenship is on its way. We killed the time relatively easily, arrived around 7:30pm, and met Eoin, Laura and Svenja in the hostel, just about the time to head out for dinner. It was a really lovely pre-tournament evening with good food, chats, laughter, and a last beer with Frank, who was back at the hostel when he arrived close to midnight.
The Tournament Starts
Our Saturday started with a fun and (thanks to Frank) informative Uber drive through lovely Vienna to the nice pitches a bit outside of the city. We immediately lost the lads when we arrived but quickly found our teammates for the day, Luxembourg. We had short introduction rounds and sorted out the positions. I was a forward, Laura in goal (only in the first game)/backs and Svenja in midfield.
There was only half an hour before the first game of the day would start, and for the extra thrill, the lads from Luxembourg hadn’t arrived at that point.. but had all the Luxembourg Camóg’s hurls in their car. No bother, work with what you have, so we warmed up entirely without touching either hurl, helmet or Sliotar.
We lost our first game by only one point, but we considered that as our actual warm-up since we only then had the equipment to play. Well, it still wasn’t the Luxembourg’s stuff; the Vikings camogie team lent their hurls to the team (Thanks for that!). I think we did great for the fact that we had never played together as a team, and we had just randomly picked up hurls they never played with before.
I’m not so good at remembering details from individual games. Still, I do know that we played really well together overall. There were some plays that would have suggested that we played together for longer than just half an hour. And I love that Svenja scored! And, of course, I remember the free I messed up, which still annoys me big time. This is followed by hitting the crossbar, which is even more annoying in a sport where it doesn’t matter whether the ball goes over or under. Anyway.. we had a great time, and even though the heat was taking its toll on all of us, we made our way to the shield final and beat Hamburg for the second time that day
Being happy for all of us on the Lux/Cologne team, Cologne for beating our rivals and winning the shield again, and Luxembourg for winning their first trophy, there was nothing to do but have a refreshing and well-deserved beer to end the tournament. So we, the Cologne Squad, did… Laura, Svenja, Eoin, Frank, Oisín and myself enjoyed a few beers in the shades before heading back to the hostel.
(yes, Eoin, we see you as one of us).
The Afters
Another cosy Uber drive was the start of a really enjoyable evening and night out. Thanks to Vienna for hosting such a well-organised tournament, dinner and trophy presentation! We drank and danced the night away at Charly P.’s Bar afterwards. And because it rarely happens in Cologne, I was extra excited to drink with Frank!
After a good night of sleep (for those who wonder: yes, this time Eion didn’t get lost) and Frank already being gone due to an earlier train, we checked out of the sauna, a.k.a. hostel and made our way into the centre. We wandered off to see Schloss Belvedere and settled for a cute café right outside the garden, where some of us had lunch, and others enjoyed a late breakfast.
Returning to Cologne
Soon, it was time to hop onto the ICE and head home to Cologne. The looongest trips ever.. maybe only because we were getting tired and bored. It seemed like we played card games for 5 hours straight, or perhaps we did. Who knows, we completely lost track of time and the ability to do anything, really. At some stage, some were close to sprinting down the aisle or having a puck around; we didn’t know how to sit or even stand anymore. We eventually made it back to Cologne around 1 am. I fell asleep almost before the door fell shut.
To quote Oisín, „The post-trip blues hit hard „, and I felt like a zombie at work on Monday morning.
Was it worth it, though? Yes. Would I do it again? No doubt! Would I recommend trips like that? Highly!
Thank you, Oisín and Kat, for sharing some of the adventures from Vienna. If you’re looking for a new challenge, want to pick up a hurley or camán for the first time, or simply want to join a vibrant community of players from all backgrounds, we’d love to have you on board! Whether you’re an experienced player or a complete beginner, our doors are always open. To learn more about joining the Cologne Celtics, get in touch with us today. Kölle abú!
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